Bees... they're sting crazy!

I had an interesting experience last Saturday. I was on the driving range getting ready to play a round of golf with my father-in-law. I saw a cloud type thing emerge in the distance, sort of like the smoke monster in Lost... It moved towards me and the other people hitting balls on the range. As it go closer, it became clear that it was a swarm of bees! I'm not a huge fan of killer bees, so along with the other people on the range, I backed up under the canopy (like that would have protected me!).

Eventually, the bees calmed down a bit. They seemed to be leaving, but when I looked closer, they weren't leaving at all, they just found a place to congregate and make a new home... right on my golf bag!!! That's right, there were literally a few thousand bees that made their home on my golf bag!

To make a long story short, the golf course had to call an exterminator to come. They put a bag over my golf bag and took the bag and the bees to a hive near the Wold Animal Park. I got my golf bag back at the end of my round. The people in the pro shop told me, "It has a little bit of wax and honeycomb on it."

CRAZY!

Resource for Holy Week

I found a great resource for Holy Week on a blog that I read. Here is the link. I hope that it is helpful to you as you think about the significance of this week.

A practical resource for Holy Week

Resurrection

Being that it is Easter next weekend, I have been doing a lot of study lately on the subject of resurrection. A lot of my study and thinking has centered around N.T Wright's book "Surprised by Hope." One of the things that has been solidified in my mind is the future hope of a bodily resurrection. While my thinking has been impacted by Wright's work, it is also being molded by 1 Corinthians 15. I have always been firm in my conviction of a bodily resurrection, but have never been too sure of where that fits into the generally accepted idea of heaven.

I am really enjoying "Surprised by Hope" and highly recommend it... I don't agree with everything in it, but it has stimulated some really good thinking and discussion.

Fire Danger

The Donkey King

I wonder if we really understand just how ridiculous and counter culture Jesus truly was. I am preparing to teach this weekend and we have decided to spend these next two weeks pointing to Easter and the cross (then we are going to teach through the book of James... so excited!). My focus this week is going to be the triumphal entry. It's one of those stories that we have heard so many times that we might no longer hear it.

Jesus comes into town, being crowned as a king, and he comes in riding on a donkey! That's crazy. No king in their right mind would have ever ridden into town on a donkey,; especially when they are being declared to be the king. You have to wonder if the people who were watching and cheering and laying down their clothes for him to walk into town on were wondering what the heck he was doing. It would be the equivalent of President Obama riding in a Pinto during his inaugural parade. It would never happen.

It seems to me that Easter and all the events that lead up to it declare that God does not do things the way that we think he should. Are we willing to get on board with that kind of God? A God who rides into to town on a donkey?

New Best Invention... EVER

It would not be quite as funny if wasn't such a useful idea. I want to get paid to come up with stuff like this!

The Influence of "New Calvinism"

I recently saw that Time magazine anointed "New Calvinism" as one of the most influential ideas in 2009. If you want to read the whole article, here is a link to it. The New Calvinism got just edged out by "Jobs are the new asset" (meaning that people are having to start working again to earn money) and "Recycling the Suburbs" (meaning that people aren't as enthralled with strip malls as they used to be). I'm curious as to how Time decided on their list, but I'm more curious as to how they chose "New Calvinism" as being worthy of the top three. I'm guessing that it is because New Calvinism is backed by two of the strongest voices in conservative Christianity today; John Piper and Mark Driscoll.

I want to be clear, I have nothing against these guys whatsoever, in fact I really like and admire both of their work (especially in the pulpit). I am just curious as to why this theology is gaining such momentum and force. In a culture that is moving more and more towards relativism, New Calvinism stands in stark contrast this idea (thankfully). Anyway, i would like to know what you think and why you think this movement is growing with such vigor.

Just a side note: I'm glad that the "New Calvinism" is growing... and not the "Old Calvinism." Seeing as how good old John Calvin and his followers were responsible for the deaths of many Anabaptists. Not one of the brighter times in the history of Christianity.